mikeolichney

You don't, as far as I know. You can go to different springs or have the valving (damping) altered, if your clickers don't do what you want. You can also change fork oil height, but this affects things most near the bottom of the stroke. I have heard of people increasing the preload on their springs by installing washers in the top of the fork tube cap. Never tried it though. I would be worried about coil binding or overstressing the spring if you got carried away with that. What is it that you want your forks to (not) do? Not bottom, be more plush on little bumps, etc?

PK

You can shim the top of the fork springs if you have the correct rate of spring in the bike and it still settles too much for ya. I bought some fork springs that came with steel washers specifically for shimming the springs. The only reason you would want to do this is to make the fork ride higher and I wouldn't recommend going over 20mm.

FOX426

Thanks for replys. I just heard or read somewhere recently about this front sag but they did not say how this was done or what they meant. I just wanted to make sure that I was'nt missing somthing. I am making some minor changes ie; raising forks in clamps and slowly raising fluid. The front wants to washout still just a little more than I would like but for tight trails I need the sharpest turning I can get and wanted to make sure with my rear sag set correctly and balanaced with the front.

F-Pilot

Fork sag is not usually used as as setup option due to the stiction from seals and damper but generally it should be about
2 1/2 inches. If you do add washers to preload the springs Yamaha makes shims for this but they go at the bottom of the spring due to the bumpers in the top of the fork.

F-Pilot

Fox,
just read your reply, get rid of the stock front tire, it doesn't work on any surface well. Try the Dunlop 755 or 756 they work great on a wide vareity of terrain.
Also, try running less sag in the rear, I have gone to 31/2 inches on really tight stadium tracks.

dirtdad

Fox, What bars are you running? Changing your bars and position of them (via different clamps) has a profound effect on handling also. This will obviously cost you but if you are dissatisfied with your handling, it is an option. I believe moving your bars forward will help in turns. can anyone add to this? Hope this helps!

FOX426

dirtdad

Fox, check out your service manual, page 7-20 and read the bottom two boxes. this may be what you're looking for. Just make sure the rear shock is set prior to trying any changes to the front. Again, hope this helps.

F-Pilot

F-15, I wish! I fly an '00 426 and other than that I never leave the ground. You'll love the handling with the new front meat. Try for the 755 if you can find it, works better in rocks and hard dirt than the 756. With a little tweaking on the sag and fork height you will be carving up the trails.
By the way, I saw your post about flywheel weights. I run an 8oz White Bros on my 426, for all off-road I would run more (10 or 12) but if you moto 8oz is the most I would use. I'm considering shaving 2 oz off mine, 6oz is better for moto and I don't trail ride much anymore.

FOX426

Thanks guys, I think I've got a handle on this shims,washers,preload thing. I'm going to try the tire change first but may still need to increase the preload eventually. I'm 6'2" and weigh 220lbs and could be too heavy for stock. F-Piolt you mentioned 2.5in settling; where did you measure from? Dirtdad, thanks for tip on manual; you know how we guys are about reading any instructions. Once I had an idea what I was looking for it made sense.

F-Pilot

Fox, I can tell you that someone your size will like stiffer springs front and rear. The stock stuff is good up to about 185 lbs which is where I should be after I lose the X-Mas fat.
Measure your forks from the bottom of the leg to a spot near the seal on the upper
tube.
Measure fully extended and then with you on the bike, you can try to get a static measurement (bike only) but I never had any luck with that.
You will need to measure many times and average the number to figure it out, you will get a different measurement almost every time. Try checking when the suspension is warmed up, it seems to have less stiction then. Good Luck!